Fairy-tale ending? Pistons would need Hollywood magic

DETROIT — Imagine if that psychotic Green Goblin had beaten the tar out of Spider-Man. Imagine if the princess had told Shrek: "Sorry, I'd rather be with the evil, short guy."

In the movies, the good guys almost always win. But that isn't the case in basketball.

If the NBA Finals were determined by the principles of movie justice, then the Pistons would be the overwhelming favorite.

The Lakers are the kings of strife; the Pistons are the kings of nice. The Lakers are fat cats; the Pistons are orphans from the wrong side of the tracks.

But here in real life, hardly anyone outside of the Palace thinks the Pistons have shot at humbling a team whose mystique rivals that of the New York Yankees and Dallas Cowboys.

And that is the Pistons' greatest advantage in this series.

"We love that," point guard Chauncey Billups said. "That's different for us, even though a lot of people didn't think we could beat Indiana. This is on a different level. It definitely fuels our fire.

"We know that we played that team well in the regular season, and that was without Rasheed [Wallace]. We feel very good about our position."

The Pistons and Lakers split two games in the regular season before the Pistons acquired Wallace.

Like all underdog teams that face great dynasties, the Pistons have been crowned the people's champions. Their blue-collar work ethic, dedication to defense and rebounding, selflessness and lack of superstars, have had a charismatic effect on the public.

Lots of fans outside Michigan are rooting for the Pistons to dethrone the team that has won three of the last four NBA titles.

But those people don't have to contend with Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Karl Malone and Gary Payton--four potential Hall of Famer players who give the Lakers their undeniable star quality.

The Pistons realize they won't stop Shaq, the most dominant center of our time. They can only slow Kobe. (Notice how those two are referred to by their first names.)

"Any team that has Shaq on it is a totally different team," said Pistons guard Lindsey Hunter, who won a title with the Lakers in 2002. "People ask questions all the time: `How do you stop Shaq? What are you going to do about Shaq?'

"Well, there's nothing you can really do about Shaq. You just have to try to figure out a way to stop him from totally dominating the game."

The Pistons, to a degree, are conceding the Kobe and Shaq matchups and searching for other advantages on the court.

They have vowed that their offense will not look like it did against Indiana in the Eastern Conference finals, when the Pistons seemed allergic to scoring and let eight or nine minutes pass between baskets.

One of the Pistons' advantages might be at point guard. Billups scored a combined 53 points against the Lakers in the regular-season matchups. In both games, all four of the Lakers' stars were in the starting lineup.

Payton, the Lakers' point guard, is talented, but he has not been memorable in the playoffs. And against San Antonio he showed he's susceptible to younger, quicker guards.

"My opportunities will be there a little bit more this series as opposed to the last series," said Billups, whose offensive production has been inconsistent in the playoffs. "Against Indiana, I felt like I had some great opportunities I could have taken advantage of, but we had a size advantage so I deferred a little bit and sacrificed a little bit. That's not a problem with me."

The Pistons' bench also could be a big component. The backups outscored the Lakers' bench, 71-27, during the regular season.

"That's the only way you can come at a big fella like Shaq, is for everybody to be aggressive," Billups said.

The Pistons will be charging up a hill in this series. But they're headed for Hollywood, so it's understandable why they think a surprise ending is within reach.